In the Center for Climate and Security’s multi-author volume, Epicenters of Climate and Security: The New Geostrategic Landscape of the Anthropocene, security experts identify 12 key climatic risks to international security that may shape the geostrategic landscape of the 21st century. In the wake of extraordinary upheaval in the international effort to address climate change, the report presents a compelling case for why tackling these climate and security “epicenters” – major categories of climate-driven risks to international security – should be a top priority for governments and institutions around the world. The report also outlines the key tools for managing systemic risks that should be included in every climate security practitioner’s and policy-maker’s toolbox.
The report is published in partnership with The American Security Project, Carnegie Mellon University, The Planetary Security Initiative, the Skoll Global Threats Fund, and the Oxford University School of Geography and Environment. It was released on June 9, 2017 at the Fourth Annual Deserts Conference at Oxford University.
Here is a video introduction to the report:
Below is the report’s table of contents, including links to PDFs of each individual chapter.
EPICENTERS OF CLIMATE AND SECURITY: THE NEW GEOSTRATEGIC LANDSCAPE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
Note From The Editors
Caitlin Werrell, Francesco Femia
Introduction
Shiloh Fetzek, Bessma Mourad
I. CLIMATE AND SECURITY EPICENTERS
ERODING SOVEREIGNTY
Climate Change, the Erosion of State Sovereignty, and World Order
Caitlin Werrell and Francesco Femia, The Center for Climate and Security
WATER TOWERS
Water Towers: Security Risks in a Changing Climate
Troy Sternberg, Oxford University
DISAPPEARING ISLANDS
Atlantis 2.0: How Climate Change Could Make States Disappear and What That Means for Global Security
Andrew Holland and Esther Babson, American Security Project
DIRE STRAITS
Dire Straits: Strategically-significant International 35 Waterways in a Warming World
Adam H. Goldstein and Constantine Samaras, Carnegie Mellon University
NUCLEAR & CLIMATE
The Climate-Nuclear-Security Nexus: A Collision Course or a Road to New Opportunities?
Christine Parthemore, Center for Climate and Security
HEALTH SECURITY
Health & Climate Security: The Interconnected Security Challenges of Climate Change and Infectious Disease
Kaleem Hawa, Center for Climate and Security
COASTAL MEGACITIES
Coastal Megacities vs. the Sea: Climate and Security in Urban Spaces
Janani Vivekenanda, adelphi, and Neil Bhatiya, Center for Climate and Security
WATER WEAPONIZATION
The Weaponization of Water in a Changing Climate
Marcus King and Julia Burnell, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
A MELTING ARCTIC
Signal, Noise and Swans in The Arctic
Katarzyna Zysk and David Titley, Penn State
FISH & CONFLICT
Fish, Food Security and Future Conflict Epicenters
Michael Thomas, Center for Climate and Security
THE COFFEE BELT
Climate, Coffee and Security
Shiloh Fetzek, Center for Climate and Security
MIGRATION & DISPLACEMENT
Migration and Displacement in a Changing Climate
Robert McLeman, Wilfrid Laurier University
II. MANAGING SYSTEMIC RISKS
Tools for Understanding Systemic Risks like Climate Change
Bessma Mourad and Amy Luers, Skoll Global Threats Fund
Foresight Tools & Early Warning Systems: Vulnerability Assessments for Abrupt and Non-Linear Climate Risks
Chad Briggs, GlobalInt, LLC
Mapping Epicenters of Climate and Security Vulnerabilities
Joshua Busby, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas-Austin
Capturing Climate and Security Risks Through Satellites and Earth Observing Technologies
Sinead O’Sullivan, Center for Climate and Security